 | Tracklist:
1. The Beginning Of The End Extraction (Evolutional Slow Down)
2. The Executive Furies Of The Robot Lord Of Death
3. Descent To The Netherworld
4. ...Och Stjarnans Namn Var Malort
5. Dante's Wild Inferno
6. I. Galactus
7. Skeletonization
8. Sickness And Demoniacal Dreaming
9. UFOria
10. Zet 1 - Reticuli
11. Transmigration Of Souls
12. In Reality All Is Void
13. Krapp's Last Tape
14. Through Fear We Are Unconscious
15. Death At Both Ends
16. Bouncing In A Bottomless Pit
17. The Sun Door
18. Vitamin Experience (A Homage To The Scientist/John Lilly)
19. Sensorium Dei
20. Zeta 2 - Reticuli
21. De Profundis
22. Existence Out Of Joint
23. On A Crater's Verge
24. Solarization
25. The End Of The Beginning Of Contraction (Involutional Speed Up/Preparation For The Big Crunch)
26. Tathagata
27. Missing Time
28. Ooo Baby Baby
Release Date: 1999 | |
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| Summary: Mind-boggling riffing and amazing drum work create chaos in its purest form. |
1 of 1 thought this review was well written
Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects - "Sol Niger Within, Version 3.33"
Fredrik Thordendal is known for his insane and inventive approach on guitar in the Swedish metal band Meshuggah. In this package it is much of the same however, we are now seeing a different and more experimental side of Fredrik's mind. Teaming up with the incredible Morgan Agren on drums and Mats Oberg on the keyboard, Fredrik seeks to create a thrilling roller-coaster of pounding riffs, groovy drumming, and a world of utter madness that is "Sol Niger Within."
With the first track you'll immediately notice the Meshuggah feel. While this will please many fans, it will also make others weary that it may be all to "samey." One thing this album is plagued with is ease of listening factor. Now, most people getting into this album probably have a good idea as to what they're getting themselves into but for the common passer-by, this is not an easy listen. The frantic vocal work (done by Thordendal) will immediately turn a lot of people off. Another thing that may turn heads is the timing of the songs; with a constant fluctuation of minute-long songs. Again, with this and Meshuggah I don't think they cater to the general audience.
What is so cool about this album is how much creativity and imagination is obviously poured into it. Songs like "Galactus" pays homage to the outer-world entity Galactus of Fantastic Four fame. The spacey vocals are less sporadic and create somewhat a sense of bewilderment in the listener. Another thing to note is the musicality of the album and other players. Agren's sense of a jazzier and more open playing style is much different than that of Haake's (Meshuggah) and fits the album perfectly. In the track "Sickness and the Demonical Dreaming" he shows off some real free-form drumming that makes your jaw collect the dirt on your carpet.
"Sol Niger Within" utilizes the small amount of time per song to make EVERY SINGLE song a different experience, which would be much harder to do if say all the songs were "proper." One of the neater tracks is "Zeta 1 - Reticuli" which shows that Thordendal can create a very immensely emotional track. The soloing in the foreground creates that emotion where as the drumming and keyboard and background riff still sound flustered and chaotic. It sort of feels like your spinning in some kind of a time warp which shows some more of that esoteric flair. "Transmigration" opens with a pummeling riff and tight drum work and breaks into what sounds to be Thordendal just playing some mechanized lead on top. Songs like these give the whole feel of the album a very futuristic feel to the album which will appeal to anyone that likes science fiction.
Putting his guitar to good use again, the effects utilized in the beginning of "In Reality All Is Void" creates somewhat of a dreamy jive to it. As you listen to more tracks you sort of forget about the abruptness of the tracks and see it as more of one song with a LOT of deranged amounts of experiments, much like that of Meshuggah's "Catch 33". The weirdest of almost all the tracks has to be "Vitamin K Experience: A Homage To The Scientist John Lilly" which literally terrifies you if you are in a dark room by yourself. It features some of the weirdest vocal effects I've heard and then breaks into some women screaming and laughing in a complete frenzy. It has weirdness that would creep out even Devin Townsend, which definitely says something.
When first listening through the album, one would think that the vocals were lackluster and sort of boring but upon a couple more spins the vocals will begin to grow. "Sensorium Dei" is a creepy track, but you can't help but feel sad for some reason due to the tone of his voice. In this track, Fredrik actually references "Contradictions Collapse" an earlier album by Meshuggah.
The instrumentation doesn't just stop at drums, guitar, and keyboards. On "Zeta 2 - Reticuli" the entire piece incorporates the saxophone, yes, the saxophone. This creates an intimate layer to this recording and really shows the jazzier side to the album. There are hints of other exotic instruments used but it is much more fun to find them instead of me telling you. Arguably the greatest piece on this album is "Missing Time" which opens with a sample from a mans voice talking about abductions and the title of the track. This is an all-out jazz fest. Instead of punishing riffs, Thordendal takes you into a different realm with a very soothing jazz piece with a dissonant keyboard layer to top it off. The weaving of jazz and alien abductions doesn't seem to fit, but he executes it quite well.
As stated, "Sol Niger Within" is a very tough album to listen to. When showing it to your friends, I warn that you may encounter fainting, hyperventilating, convulsions, head banging, seizures, or implosion. In all seriousness, if you're a fan of Meshuggah or Throdendal you will probably adore this album. If you like a jazz fusion onslaught with metal accents and experimentation of apocalyptic proportions than this will be an album for you.
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Well I wouldn't say fretboard mastery but he has a cool style. I need this, I saw a great clip of a track from this on youtube. I've got to give it to you, you've got great taste from what I've seen you review.
This Message Edited On 03.26.08
Digging: Slayer - South of Heaven
| | | Album Rating: 4
Wrong wording haha. Thanks for catching that, I was actually listening to Jason Becker haha.
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Yea, I know what track you're talking about. It's really fun to listen to. I love Agren...such a monster drummer.
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Slow down tiger. Three reviews in one day is pushing it.
Digging: Running Wild - Black Hand Inn
| | | Album Rating: 4
haha. I'm sorry. Most of these were outlined a few months back as I just wrote for fun on my own at home. Now that there is a cool community to place them in, I figured I'd let them lose. Is there a limit per day? If I've surpassed that, I'm sorry.
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There isn't a limit it's just best to spread it out in the interest in fairness, that's all. It's best to just play it by eye, if two of your reviews show on the main pane on the front page it's probably best to hold off :P. Don't sweat it though.
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Aw man, I didn't think of that. Is there anyway to take this down and post it some other day?
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A mod could but don't worry about it, this was a good review and I'm sure your others are as well, so at least you've submitted mass amounts of quality instead of crap, which has happened in the past.
Digging: Kayo Dot - Blue Lambency Downward
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yeah, your reviews are great. Keep it up.
Digging: Psycroptic - The Scepter of the Ancients
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decent review good album
Digging: Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
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Hey Ampersand, did you get this from Ågren's site or is this DL'd?
Digging: Protest the Hero - Fortress
| | | Album Rating: 4
I actually got this from Amazon a while back. It cost a hefty price though. Last time I looked, it was about $30.
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Oh ok, I guess you have SNW Version 3.33 then. I was asking cause there are two versions of this album. You can get the first, original version from Morgan Ågren's shop for $20 which I of course have acquired. You on the other hand have the rare one (including 2 bonus tracks and 3 left off).
I was actually planning on reviewing this as my first. This was overdue and you did a quite good job. Personally I love this album but that doesn't come as a surprise since some of my favorite albums are Meshuggah's 'I' and Catch Thirtythree; album/EP being one song, not to mention the fusion elements featured on this are epic.
This Message Edited On 03.28.08
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i want the original version, the 3.33 is really easy to find on blogsearch if you want it Sanchez.
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^ Yes I know rattlehead. I actually like the sound better on the original and to be honest I don't think Missing Time yet being a great track fits the album's flow, let alone Ooo Baby Baby.
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Great review man, album sounds really interesting.
Digging: The Ocean - Precambrian
| | | Album Rating: 4
Thanks everyone for the high praise. I'm really having fun doing these.
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Nice review...i just heard of these guys recently and will be looking into them at some point soon.
Digging: Lady Radiator - Bounce Energy Hear Me Out
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Well written review, for just a completely amazing album.
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